Armed robbers snatch $5,000 from woman

JAKARTA (JP): Two men armed with machetes snatched more than US$5,000 in cash from a woman in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday morning, an officer said.

Chief of Tanah Abang Police subprecinct Capt. Suwito said Murni Setiawati of Penjaringan, North Jakarta, withdrew $5,000 and Rp 70,000 from Standard Chartered Bank's headquarters on Jl. Sudirman and was passing Jl. Kebon Kacang when a man on a motorcycle stopped her Isuzu Panther van.

The man told her driver that one of the van's tires was flat. The driver parked the car in the health center to change the tire.

The center's parking attendant, Kirman, helped the driver, while Murni waited in the facility's lobby. The man on the motorcycle rode off.

After they were finished changing the tire and about to leave, a man brandishing a machete stopped Murni as she was about to enter the car. He grabbed her bag while another pointed a machete at Kirman's throat.

The two men fled on a motorcycle which was parked outside the health center.

Suwito said the police found it difficult to trace the robbers because none of the witnesses recorded the motorcycle's registration number. (01)